The Most Peculiar Man
by Sinictra
Summary: SPOILERS: The story is settled after the HalfBlood Prince. My own view of what happened after that fatidic night in the astronomy tower. Centered on the most enigmatic, complex and powerful character of the whole Harry Potter Series
1. Dark thoughts Dark loneliness Dark Man?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters/places… that you could recognize. Sinictra is a product of my imagination, don't mistaken her with Prof. Sinistra. And, as always, here goes my apologize for the language. I know it maybe is not as brilliant as you would expect and mere (I have to please you to read my stories LOL) but I'm Spanish. AHH! I also want to say that the songs mentioned in the fanfic belongs to Simon & Garfunkel and that I want to aknoledge "La Oreja de Van Gogh" for inspiring me.

**Spoilers: **this fic takes part after _"The Half-Blood Prince"._

**Summary: **my own version about what happened after that fatidic night in the astronomy tower… enjoy it and review please (no matter what you think good or bad, it would be heard out)

The most peculiar man.

Chapter 1: Dark thoughts. Dark loneliness. Dark man?

_"__Hello darkness my old friend... where has he heard it? It surely was from that muggle audio tape Arthur Weasley was always listening to. Anyway he should said "Hello darkness my only friend", a friend is someone with you can think aloud, almost it was said, and his bitter thoughts were only allowed in the most impenetrable darkness."_

These were the sour thoughts which were filling the mind of Severus Snape. He was in the highest tower of a castle, lost in a forest, where the Death Eaters were celebrating the murder of Albus Dumbledore, a murder he has committed. His dark ebony eyes were looking into the midnight horizon without seeing anything. Draco and Narcissa were now safe and he had already reported the events of the night to the Dark Lord, it had taken a great effort to perform Oclumency against him, especially because of the intense pain he feel inside. It has taken more than never to empty his mind, so full of horror and self-hatred to let him easily clear it.

"_He was the only man who has ever trust him completely. Indeed, he usually feels that the Headmaster trusts him more than he trusts himself. The old wizard had given his life for him, had given his life to provide him a chance. This sacrifice was the only thing which prevented himself from brewing an obliviating potion or a killing one to stop everything, to rest. He feels this time was different, was harder than every time before. At least before, the Headmaster was by his side to support him. But now he was all alone, he can touch the loneliness as if it was a real entity."_

Someone has entered to the tower and was standing behind him, smiling at him with contempt. It was a young woman with long straight black hair. He was so weary even to look who was disturbing his fatal thoughts. He didn't care.

"Congratulations Snape", said the woman dragging the words with a cold tone. "May I apologize you for my distrust?" sneered at him. Obviously, she was drunk and wanted to tease him. He was too tired to answer.

"Go away Bellatrix", said him. "I do not want to kill someone else tonight, and you are making it difficult."

"Oh, oh! What are you going to do Snivellus? Are you going to tell the headmaster? Oooh...! I forgot that he is dead, that you have killed him." She has nearly not finished these last words when she fell to the ground. Severus was looking at her, surprised. He had raised his wand in front of her but he haven't cast any curse, still. He looked around, without lowering his wand.

"Who is here! Show yourself!"

"I surely do if you weren't raising a menacing wand. It would be easier to talk with you without that."

"If you consider that I am going to surrender my wand so easy you may have to be in the fourth floor of St Mungo!"

"I know this was going to happen, Albus told me", hissed the intruder. Hearing the name of his protector, Severus Snape put his guard off a bit. "Here you are: my own wand, without any tricks." A wand appeared from the nothing and Severus took it cautiously. It was a fine wand, twenty-five maybe a bit more, made of ebony, like his own wand. He couldn't guess what the nucleus was made. "Maybe now you could lower your wand so I can show myself," asked her, waking him up from the examination of the wand, "could you?" He has just noticed she was a girl: her voice was soft but firm, he did she has asked. Then with a whisper she appeared in the same way that he wand have made, from the nothing.

His eyes were so accustomed to the darkness that he immediately focused the face of the girl who was standing before him: long dark haired messed up in the neck of her robes, pale skin under the moonlight and a sad sight in his black eyes. He stared at her until a memory slipped into her brain, the image of a student hidden behind a pile of books, a smoothing cauldron or looking to the blackboard with hard concentration…

"Sinictra Fox… what on hell are you doing here? I didn't know you were a Death Eater…" The sarcasm in his voice was bitter, but, this time, his icy eyes let her known about the pain and frustration he was feeling.

"I'm not a Death Eater, I'm here to talk with you and help you as Dumbledore ask me to do"

"Dumbledore is dead. No help is required, I do things myself."

"I remember you didn't use to made mistakes but many years had past, and you are making a great mistake."

"I remember you didn't use to be so insolent"

" The Order looks forward you, so the Aurors do, as Death Eater… we both know you are no longer a Voldemort minion. You have no chance to keep yourself working for the Cause apart from trusting me, the messenger of Dumbledore, as you trusted him. At least, you should hear what I have to say…"

"I have listened too much indeed, I have better things to do than listen to a former student which was a know-it-all, just like now."

"Well, if you just feel better here, pitying yourself… that's your way. Dumbledore could never imagine you so defeated, nor I." After saying this, she turned back and looked into the midnight sky.

"Wait. I will listen to you, but not now. Not here. We will meet in Bournemouth, it's a little muggle village. We will meet there at nine, in that old scriptorium behind the church."

"Perfect, I'll be there, Professor" and with this last words, both, the girl and the wand dissaparated.

He stared several minutes more into the dark night and then went into the tower. He would try to sleep a bit, maybe he should have an asphodel potion. It will be difficult to rest… yes, this will be such a long night.


	2. Visitors

Visitors

A muffled crack sounded in the dark room, two faded figures were approaching the bed where a pale man was sleeping in a rather unquiet way, some drops of sweat making his forehead shine under the moonlight. The intruders were an old man and a young woman whose raven black hair contrasted fully with the large silver beard of the wizard. They were staring at the sleeping man with a sad look in their faces.

_Hello my poor boy, _said the older one as a wistful smile was drawn in his face, _I have to come, I need your forgiveness, I cannot rest in peace without knowing that you can understand it, that you can forgive me for throwing you into this hell… it was necessary, for the greater good… I know this will make you laugh, believe in the greater good was never one of your strengths, you were always disdaining this purpose with your irony. I doubt if yourself realized that there was a huge part of that goodness inside you, that you were one of the biggest supporters of this battle towards peace. Well, I have to leave; tomorrow you will think that this was a dream. Maybe. But I am only allowed to visit you in your dreams, and when you look at the sunrise I will sent you a sign, something only you recognize, something which granted you that I have asked you for mercy despite I don't mere it… but I need it, and I never needed nothing before. I let you with someone else, she is more than blissful of seeing you. I came to ask for forgiveness and she has come to give it. _

The aged man retired to the shadows, touched gently the cheek of the sorrowful woman and faded as fume from a candle. The woman looked at the man in the bed. Her eyes were showing a love that cannot be described with simple words, even the greatest world poet would have find it impossible to paint with his words the shine, the bright and happiness in that eyes. Looking further, there was something more in that look. There was pain, extreme pain and sorrow. There was mercy and compassion. There was pity and regret and yet, by heaven, there was love, and this last feeling was overwhelming the rest of them, no matter how strong they were, this love can beat every and surface in the glare of that ebony eyes.

The sleeping man seemed to feel the intense look he was being subject and he moaned and changed slightly his posture. Now, a moonlight ray was illuminating his face. He is a young man, thirty-five or forty, but he looked older. A deep frown cross his face even when he is sleeping, perhaps even is not the most suitable word to use, because when he is drowned in the slumber he is not able to hide his emotions as well as he do when he is awake… Curtains of dark lank hair framed a pale face, in his sleep you can guess a sober and sad expression that is concealed by his bitterness when those black eyes are open. The shade of grief seems to be increased as he feels the stare of the woman. Still, he remains asleep.

The woman walked towards him and sat on the edge of the bed. She reached out her hand to touch him, but she stopped just a few inches from his cheek, then she started talking.

_Hi my love. You look so alone, so weak here within this greyish blankets… if only I could embrace you, if only I could provide you the slightest warm… I know that you have been torturing yourself during the last seventeen years. You shouldn't do that anymore. I'm here and I cannot bear the idea of seeing you suffering one day more because of me. It was not your fault, you were young and you made the wrong decision… but it wasn't only your fault. You have received nothing but hatred and disdain, you had no reason to trust me, to believe that the love I was offering you were real; and I don't blame you for that. Finally, you accepted me and that very day was the happiest of my entire life. I remember the first time you kissed me, there was a smile in your face and that little gesture made you look so beautiful… and that is the way I will remember you, smiling, without the frown and the sadness that have made a home of your face. _

_Again, it wasn't your fault. We were happy. Who cares about the world when is in love? But you wanted to save me from the darkness that was covering the world in long strides. You tried to protect me, you made all that was in your hands to keep me safe. You forgot that time that the Dark Lord can read in the deepest part of our hearts and you were too much worthy for him and his plans of destruction to let you be distracted by something he never understood and still remain a mystery for him: love. He knew that you loved me and that was my death sentence. But it wasn't your fault. The only guilty was him and his hatred consumed heart (if he has something which can be called like that), you have suffered too much, you have also done too much to redeem yourself. Here is my forgiveness, you needn't it because you did nothing but I know you have asked for it so many times, and this have been the only opportunity I have had to granted you that you are innocent of my death._

_Now, I should leave, the sunrise is coming and you will awake soon. _

She caressed gently his cheek and placed a soft kiss in his mouth. She held her breath for a while as her lips remained against his. Then, he made a sudden movement and she disappeared like the older wizard, she became a light smoke while uttering a simple sentence,

_I love you Severus._

the shortest poem, only four words, of the most sincere poet, her heart.

He awake in that very moment, with the words echoing in his mind. A dream, it was all that have been. He got up and walked across the sober room. He reached the window and looked pensively through it. Then he felt a sudden shudder in his back, he looked to the sunrising and his disbelief broke down as he saw a pair of twinkling eyes and a face he had not seen in seventeen years reflected on the window glass. He turned to his back and saw nothing but the empty and cold room he occupied in Voldemort's headquarters. He looked again through the window and the two familiar faces remained there, he reached out a hand to touch the fresh glass where the beloved face was standing and then, he looked into the blue eyes. Remembering the dream, he took a deep breath and said:

"Albus, I forgive you." As he said this, the older wizard in the glass smiled, and then, looking closely to the woman Severus said, "Thank you my love". And with this last words, the reflections disappeared.


End file.
